Jan. 25, 2002

Box Score

(San Francisco) - USF got a game-high 18 points from sophomore forward Carey Sauer, 13 coming in the first half as the Lady Dons defeated Gonzaga 73-58 in West Coast Conference women's basketball action Friday at War Memorial Gym. USF (10-8, 2-3 WCC) remains unbeaten at home during league play and wins their fourth consecutive contest against the Bulldogs (10-9, 1-4 WCC).

USF opened up the throttles offensively early, taking am 18-8 lead with 9:57 left in the first half. The Bulldogs reeled off eight unanswered points to cut the lead to 18-16 at 7:09, but the Lady Dons responded with an 11-0 run, taking a 29-16 lead with 4:39 on the clock. USF outscored the Zags 20-6 in the final 7:06 of the half to take a 38-22 lead at intermission.

San Francisco continued to fire on all cylinders in the early going of the second half and led by as many as 25 points, 64-39 with 7:53 left, but missed an opportunity to put Gonzaga away. The Bulldogs went on an 18-4 run to close the gap to 11, 68-57 with 2:18 to play. USF weathered the Gonzaga flurry and closed out the contest.

USF got an outstanding performance from junior guard Lisa Whiteside, who tallied her second career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman guard Toni Russell scored 11 points, dished out seven assists - six in the first half - and collected six steals. Junior guard Alicia Hernandez scored 10 points and dished out four assists while freshman center Celeste Farmer scored eight points and pulled down three boards in 11 minutes.

Senior guard Bernice Stime scored a team-high 12 points for the Bulldogs, while freshman guard Juliann Laney added 11. Gonzaga did manage to out-rebound USF and held a 44-37 advantage and an 18-13 edge on the offensive glass. The Lady Dons' defense forced 24 Bulldog turnovers.

USF returns to WCC action when they host the Pilots of the University of Portland on Saturday. Game time is at 7:00 PM at War Memorial Gym.